I had surgery last week, and proceeded to have the longest hospital stay of my life. During the several-night stay at the hospital, I had plenty of time to worry about all the work I wasn't getting done, the prospects I promised proposals to but hadn't yet delivered, and the customers for which I knew I had to complete projects. But, alas, my intellectual self knew that -- no matter how much I worried or thought about the stuff I needed to finish -- my backlog of tasks were not going to get done while I lay there in the hospital bed.
So I decided to use the time to plan some future writing projects and study the operations of the patient care department. As a consultant, I'm always focused on finding opportunities for performance improvement. And what a better place to analyze the hospital's delivery of services than while I'm laying in bed for several days experiencing the nursing staff's performance from a front row perspective.
Chances are, blog reader, you don't run a hospital or manage a hospital staff. But you might sell insurance or handbags or custom closets or something else. So don't ignore this opportunity to see your business (albeit a different one) through the eyes of a consumer:
Lesson #1: Be Proactive.
Hospitals care for guests every day. They're in the business of patient care. With a wealth of knowledge about their customers, their operations, and all the regulations, one should be able to anticipate many patient needs. I'm guessing every patient in the hospital (at least those who are able) would like to take a shower by their third or fourth day having not had one.
So anticipate this, hospital care staff. Provide soap and shampoo and washcloths and towels, and instructions on how and when to take a shower with the patient's unique circumstances kept in mind. A patient shouldn't have to ask to take a shower on their third or fourth day in the hospital. They should already know it's available, how to do it, and what they need to do to accomplish it. If, due to the nature of the patient's situation, he is unable to have a shower or bath, then he should be told so proactively.
Use the knowledge you have about your customers and how they do business to do better business.
Lesson #2: Little Things Matter.
During my stay, I dealt with probably seven or eight nurses and probably seven or eight nursing assistants. I'm a human being. Nurses are human beings. Why wasn't there more human interaction taking place?
One of my nurses came to see me every day at the end of his shift to tell me he would be leaving in twenty or thirty minutes. What a wonderful way to recognize the humanity of your patients...keep them informed!
Little things matter to human beings.
Lesson #3: It's Not All About Hearts, Spleens, and Broken Limbs
During my entire stay, the light above my sink was burned out, as was the overhead light in my room. Several of the nursing staff noticed it, and I reported it more than once. Yet, by the time I left my room for good, it had not yet been fixed.
How much do you want to bet that the lights are still out now, even though I left the hospital three days ago?
Yes, it's very important to take care of patients' hearts, spleens, and broken limbs. But doesn't it stand to reason that an organization that cannot effectively manage burned-out light bulbs may not be so good at managing patient's spleens either?
Lesson #4: Personal Touches Matter
When a nurse comes into your room with a long face and a harried look, you just know you're not going to be treated very well, specially when you plaster a big smile onto your face and exclaim, "Good morning, Nancy!" and get a dour response. I'm sure nurses are overworked and underpaid, and they probably have more than their fair share of challenging patients, but none of that is an excuse for not treating your patients like special people (like customers for heaven's sake).
A facial expression (frown or smile), a tone of voice (warm or cold), and type of eye contact (direct or avoidant) speaks volumes to the patient. So does human touch. And what if every nurse would say, "Is there anything else you need before I leave?" every single time she left your room? Wouldn't you feel more cared for than if she simply walked out of your room?
Nurses live their careers at the hospital so everything becomes routine for them. But for most patients, hospital visits are anything but routine. I think it's important for all those serving patients in the hospital to remember that.
Handshakes, smiles, grins, chuckles, patience, warmth, a gentle touch of the hand - these are the tools of humanity and hospitals need more humanity. Your business probably needs more humanity, too.
Lesson #5: Customers Get Frustrated When They Have to Ask More Than Once
Lunch never came and you ask for it, and it still never comes after you call attention to the fact. You want a pain pill, yet, one hour later, the pain pill hasn't arrived. You ask a question and the nurse ends her shift without getting back to you with the answer, or at least telling you she doesn't have an answer yet.
I hate to have to ask more than once. Customers hate to ask more than once. What do your customers have to ask for over and over again?
Lesson #6: If It's Quiet They Want, Give Them Quiet.
Hospitals are noisy places. Some patients, like me, are light sleepers. Put noisy places and light sleepers together and you have a potential disaster. I would have paid just about anything out of my own pocket by the morning after my first night's stay if someone would have guaranteed me a quiet stay.
The nurse staff chuckled and chortled all night, yelled from one nursing station to another about this or that, waking me up every single time. I'd get up and shut my door, but getting up with a blood pressure cuff around one arm and an I.V. in the other are major endeavors. Yet, whenever anybody would come in to check my vitals or give me some more meds, they'd leave without closing the door, even though I had asked them to do so.
I bet your customers would pay just about anything for something. If you can identify that something, you've got a huge money-making opportunity.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not totally unhappy with my experience last
week. It's just that I know they could have done so much better.
Even though you probably aren't in the hospital or nursing business, what can your business learn from these lessons from the hospital bed?
If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training.
He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in
B2C, retail, in-home selling, and the financial, real estate, and insurance
markets.
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